


You Float My Boat

by youaresunlight



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, Jock Dean, M/M, Nerd Castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-07
Updated: 2014-11-07
Packaged: 2018-02-24 10:05:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2577575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youaresunlight/pseuds/youaresunlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas’ high school career has been about three things: academics, extra-curriculars, and Lawrence High’s star swimmer Dean Winchester. Cas knows, of course, that it’s an implausible crush, but there’s a part of him that always hopes, that maybe this is the year Dean falls in love with him right back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Float My Boat

**On Monday** , Cas is in the middle of unlocking his bike when he hears his name across the parking lot. His heart jumps because he knows that voice – god, he’d recognize it anywhere – and sure enough, when he turns around, Dean Winchester is waving at him, the keys to his Impala jingling in his hand. Castiel waves back (it’s only polite), swallows hard because Dean turns him into the most conspicuously lovestruck person ever. He doesn’t expect Dean to start weaving around the cars to get to him, though, and Cas is suddenly torn between running toward Dean and running away.

"Heading home, Cas?" Dean grins, having made his way over in quick, long strides. His hair is still damp from swim practice and he smells faintly of chlorine, and Cas tries really hard not to stare at the slightly wet shirt underneath his hoodie.

"Yes," Cas replies, his gaze drifting to the side. "Our meeting ran a little late."

"Bio Olympiad, right?" Dean asks, laughing when Cas glances up in surprise. "My, uh, my brother’s starting here next year and he asked me about the club. S’already planning his whole schedule." Dean shakes his head and Cas can’t help a smile; everyone knows how close the Winchesters are. "Besides, I knew you were in it, so." 

"Oh." Well, Cas has no idea what to make of that.

"Anyway," Dean shrugs before tilting his head up to the sky, "do you... want a ride or something? Looks like it might rain soon."

"I, um..." Cas honestly can’t handle this day at all. "I’ll be fine. I’m- I’m just a few minutes from here."

"Right, yeah, of course," Dean nods, his smile inexplicably smaller now. "I’ll see you tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow," Cas repeats, and with Dean the word seems to contain a thousand unspoken promises.

 

 **On Tuesday** , Cas is early to sixth period, thanks to his calculus teacher letting them leave right after the test. Sixth period is home ec, a class he happens to share with Dean; it’s his favorite and least favorite class all at once because he gets to see Dean, only it’s Dean surrounded by a gaggle of girls. Which is why Cas pauses in the doorway when he finds Dean alone at one of the cooking stations.

"Hey, Cas!" Dean calls, gesturing at him to come over. He waits for Castiel to approach, looks so expectant that Cas hesitantly sets his binder down. The resulting smile is blinding and takes Cas’ breath away.

"Where is your... entourage?" he manages to ask, and his face heats up when Dean stares back, agape, then bursts out laughing.

"I let them have the afternoon off," Dean teases. "Jesus, Cas, you must think I’m a total douche."

"No! I..." Cas bites his lip, scolding himself for making a mess of things. But Dean is smiling again and it’s warm and kind, and as such Cas is both confused and completely overwhelmed by his pulse ringing in his ears.

"I’m just kidding," Dean reaches out, pats Castiel’s shoulder. "You think I’m adorable, right?" 

 _Oh god. How does Dean know. What does he say here._  “Um... Yes.”

Dean’s eyes widen briefly, the green bright and brilliant under the fluorescent lights of their classroom. It’s all soon replaced by a grin that’s somehow cocky and just this side of endearing. “I knew it.” 

Class starts around the time Castiel learns to breathe again, and for the next hour they’re thankfully occupied with the task of producing a successful cheese soufflé. Dean does distract him for a moment by getting all-purpose flour on his cheekbones, but Cas stays focused otherwise and their soufflé comes out close to perfect. 

Of course, his composure falters when Dean makes him take half of it home, and he spends the evening trying to guard the Tupperware from Gabe, who finally steals a huge bite and demands that Cas immediately make Dean Winchester his man-wife.

 

 **On Wednesday** , Cas’ mood plummets before the morning bell has even rung. He’s on his way to English, navigating through throngs of classmates, and it’s as he passes Dean’s locker that he hears, “So, are you taking me to Homecoming or what?”

He slows down a tad, not enough to be obvious (he hopes), and sneaks a glance at Lisa Braeden who’s got Dean more or less pinned with a manicured forefinger to his chest. Cas tries to decipher Dean’s ambiguous smile, praying that it’s one meant to precede letting her down easy, but when he glimpses Dean’s hand lift to her waist Cas flees, leaving the scene as swiftly as possible.

He feels sufficiently miserable for the rest of the day, which, okay, is absolutely ridiculous. It’s not as if Dean would’ve asked _him_ instead of Lisa anyway, so really, his pathetic wallowing is pointless. And yet.

And yet, Cas can’t ignore how he’s been in love with Dean since freshman year, from the very second the other boy introduced himself in chemistry. That was three years ago and Dean has never failed to be nice and wonderful, and despite their respective social groups Castiel thought that maybe- He’d hoped...

Cas sighs, realizing that what he’d hoped for was a miracle.

He doesn’t look at Dean when he gets to home ec later that day, just walks straight to Charlie, who’s still clearly dying to ask him about his ‘soufflé date.’ But one peek at Castiel’s face has her smiling sympathetically instead, and Cas is grateful for his friend’s tact as they start their assignment in silence.

 

 **On Thursday** , Castiel stays after school again, this time in the library where he has a tutoring shift for Honor Society. He helps a sophomore with some poetry analysis, a junior who’s struggling in physics, and he’s about to pull out a book to fill the lull when he hears a gym bag hit the floor beside the table.

“Mind if I sit?”

Cas stammers a quiet “Go ahead” as Dean sinks into the chair across from his, and a notebook and some loose papers are produced between them followed by a “Can you help me with calc?”

“Of course,” Cas replies, taking the worksheet from Dean’s outstretched hand. It’s half-completed and the answers appear correct, but he starts explaining derivatives nonetheless and doesn’t catch Dean moving his chair closer to him.

“... potential points of discontinuity are at the breaks, so if you were to define the limit here-” 

“It’d be discontinuous at -1.”

Cas pauses and turns toward Dean, who’s got his chin propped on one hand, staring at Cas in lieu of his homework. Cas feels a sudden flare of irritation because, well, what exactly is Dean doing here if he understands the damn equations already.

“Dean, if you don’t actually need the help-”

“Cas,” Dean stops him, sitting up and moving his elbow off the table. “Look, man. You’re right, I’m fine with the math, I just- Are _you_ alright?”

Cas blinks. “What?” 

“No, I mean...” Dean sighs like he’s really frustrated with himself and pushes a hand through his hair, the strands still wet enough that they stick out in every which direction afterward. “You seemed sort of down yesterday. You know, quiet.”

“I’m always fairly quiet, Dean.”

“Yeah, well,” the corner of Dean’s mouth quirks up, “quieter than usual. Something wrong?”

 _I’m in love with you. I wish you’d love me back_. “It’s nothing.”

“C’mon, it’s never nothing, even with guys.”

“Dean, I don’t-” Cas grips his pencil with a bit more force than necessary. “I’d prefer not to talk about it.”

Dean seems dissatisfied with his answer, or rather it’s disappointment that crosses his handsome face. Either way, the expression makes Castiel feel even worse, because he’s the one who put it there regardless of the reasons unbeknownst to him.

“You _could_ talk to me, you know,” Dean says, sounding more serious than Cas had ever heard him. “I can’t promise good advice or anything but... I’d listen. Shut up long enough for you to rant.” 

Cas is well aware that the one thing he truly wants to discuss is something that he could _never_ disclose to Dean, but he tucks the offer away like a sweet note for a rainy day and just the thought of it warms him down to his toes. “I appreciate it, Dean.”

Dean nods, shifting minutely in his seat, and for a second Cas assumes that he’s about to reach out and gather up his things. So naturally Cas gasps when Dean reaches for his glasses instead, prying them gently off the bridge of his nose, and he watches incredulously as Dean rubs one of the lenses on the soft-looking fabric of his shirt.

“You had a little smudge,” Dean smiles, lifting the glasses back onto Cas’ face, “and I swear my shirt’s clean.”

They’re kind of impossibly close and Cas has no clue how to deal with the proximity, or the gesture. His fingers clutch at his own jeans while he registers a touch to his forearm, a friendly goodbye, and if he’s a little dazed for the rest of the afternoon, he blames it all on green eyes and the way “Cas” sounds when murmured in Dean’s voice.

 

 **On Friday** , Cas sees a note stuck to his locker, a piece of notebook paper folded in half, taped at its mouth so the content can stay private. He peels it off the metal and opens it up, the questions already forming, but _nothing_ prepares him for what he actually reads.

_Cas, could you meet me at the pool after school? – Dean_

It’s a random request, considering he and Dean have never spent time together outside of school hours. He also recalls that the swim team has no practice on Fridays, and conveniently decides to ignore how and why he knows that piece of information.

He’s understandably restless during the classes that follow, so much so that Charlie notices and asks what’s going on. He merely shrugs because he really doesn’t know either, but when he finally makes it to home ec, Dean comes to him before the bell and says, “Did you get my...?” 

“I did,” Cas finishes, tilting his head at Dean’s mysterious smile. He wants to inquire for more details but Benny Lafitte calls Dean back to their station, and if the look they exchange is any indication, the other senior has a better grasp of the situation than Cas does. 

All sorts of thoughts swarm Castiel’s mind as he goes to fetch his backpack after school. He trusts that Dean would never- This wouldn’t be some kind of... prank, would it? No one has bothered him for years, not since Alastair graduated after Cas’ freshman year, and if it were to start up again, with Dean of all people as the instigator, that’d be terrible; it would break Castiel. 

He pauses no fewer than three times on his walk to the pool, worrying and doubting, but always falling back to trusting. When he reaches the swinging door, he breathes shakily, pushes it open, and while the humidity and chlorine hit his senses right away, he can’t seem to find Dean anywhere in the otherwise empty space. 

“Dean?” he tries nervously, the name echoing off the high ceiling and concrete. 

“Hey, Cas,” comes Dean’s reply from the other end of the pool, and Cas is about to head his way when Dean raises a hand and says, “Wait. Just- Wait right there for a sec.” 

Cas nods just as Dean turns and rummages the gym bag on the foremost bleacher, sees Dean’s shoulders rise and fall with a deep, calming breath. Whatever he retrieves from the bag, Dean is cradling it when they face each other again, and Cas squints in an effort to make out what it is, becoming even more curious when he does. 

It’s a small toy boat, painted a bright royal blue from what Cas can tell. He remembers playing with a similar model when he was a child too, though that doesn’t help him understand why Dean is holding one now. Dean crouches to place the boat in the water, carefully so that it bobs only a little. He then stands back up with the remote still in one hand, and Cas watches as the vessel whir toward him down the lane. 

Cas picks the boat up before it crashes into the tile, gently turning it around in his hands. He catches Dean shifting on his feet, intently studying his reaction, and it’s when Cas peers back at the sail that he sees it: another question, written across the canvas.

_How about Homecoming?_

 

 **On Saturday** , Dean pulls into Cas’ driveway at ten, checks his reflection in the rearview mirror then climbs out of his Impala. He glances at his phone once more to make sure he isn’t late (he’s not), and probably (definitely) paces too much after ringing the doorbell. 

Cas opens the door with a shy “Good morning, Dean,” and Dean’s whole world halts for a moment because, wow, Cas is stupidly gorgeous. 

“Hey,” Dean smiles, bending down slightly to kiss Cas’ cheek, and when he pulls back, there is pink spreading below the prettiest blue Dean swears he’s ever seen. “Ready to go?” 

“Yes,” Cas answers, a tad breathless, unfairly adorable, and Dean waits for him to lock his front door before officially introducing his new boyfriend to Baby. 

He takes Cas to breakfast at Ellen’s diner, then a matinee where he keeps his arm around Cas for the entire film. It’s nearly two by the time they leave the theater so they grab burgers (which Cas apparently loves), and then they spend hours, just talking, lounging in a coffee shop by the local bookstore. Maybe Dean reaches for Cas’ hand at one point, and maybe Cas blushes, twines their fingers together a bit more tightly. Maybe Dean gives Cas his jacket when the temperature drops, and really likes how the sleeves are a little long over those slim fingers. 

“Looks good on you,” he grins, “You should wear it all the time.” 

“That’s a tempting offer,” Cas smiles, soft and sweet and beautiful, and Dean laughs as he pulls the boy closer, his breath white in the air but Castiel’s presence warm like home.

 

 **On Sunday** , Cas tells Dean that he’s harbored a crush on him since the ninth grade, and Dean says “I fell for you on that first day in chem” then leans forward to capture Castiel’s lips with his own.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for this request on [Tumblr](http://puppycastiel.tk/post/101967108610/hi-whenever-you-need-a-prompt-can-you-do): "hi! whenever you need a prompt, can you do nerd!cas pining over the popular jock!dean and maybe like dean asking cas to homecoming or something fluffy like that? i dunno thank you<3"
> 
> Do leave me kudos, comments, and love! :)


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